IT WAS a black tie white ribbon night for the Irish in France last night. At the historic Paris restaurant, the Pre Catelan, French and Irish industrialists and public figures were already sporting their white peace ribbons for the Wild Geese ball in aid of the Ireland Fund of France.
"There's a huge level of interest for the peace process here," said the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Lowry, wearing his ribbon. "The first question everyone asks is can the peace process be restored?"
The ribbons were all hand made by the staff of the Irish Embassy in Paris. They distributed hundreds of them to the city's Irish pubs in the run up to today's rugby international at the Parc des Princes.
The £180 a head gala evening was partly to honour one of Ireland's modern day Wild Geese, Dr Michael Smurfit, who was awarded the first Wild Geese Award, a bronze sculpture by Dublin sculptor, Ms Tanya Nyegaard. Since the Smurfit takeover of Cellulose du Pin in south western France in November 1994 the Smurfit group has boosted Ireland's trade relations with France and is now the biggest employer in the Aquitaine region with 7,300 employees.
"I've been a francophile all my life," Dr Smurfit said as the guests arrived. He was particularly happy that the company was based in the Bordeaux area. "I've always been a lover of good claret." The award he added, was a very nice gesture which is really a mark of respect for my company which now has 40,000 people worldwide".
The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, was unable to attend but other Ministers there were the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Jimmy Deenihan, and the Minister of State in the Taoiseach's Department, Ms Avril Doyle.
One of the evening's hosts was perhaps the most famous descendant of the 18th century Wild Geese in France, the Duke of Magenta, Philippe de MacMahon, great grandson of Marshall MacMahon, a president of France.
A later Wild Geese family, the Bartons, have been in Bordeaux, where they run the Chateau Longoa Barton vineyards, for 250 years. Mr Anthony Barton who now runs it says he was more Irish than French having been born in Straffan House, Co Kildare, now owned by Dr Smurfit.
Other Wild Geese descendants included Mr Maurice Hennessy, of Hennessy Cognac, and his cousin, the Marquis of Joffre, a Hennessy through his mother.
Then there were the hibernophiles, those with no family connections but a great enthusiasm for Ireland including Prince Sixte Henri de Bourbon Parme and the Mayor of Cannes, Mr Michel Mouillot.